STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1550

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2013

RE:   S.B. No. 19

      S.D. 1

      H.D. 2

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred S.B. No. 19, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to remove ambiguity regarding the provision of electricity by landlords and lessors by exempting landlords and lessors who install renewable energy systems on their property and provide, sell, or transmit electricity generated from those renewable energy systems to tenants or lessees on the premises, from the definition of public utility.

Blue Planet Foundation; NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association Hawaii Chapter; Puna Pono Alliance; and many concerned individuals testified in support of this measure. The Public Utilities Commission; Division of Consumer Advocacy; Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Forest City Hawaii; Hawaii Renewable Energy Alliance; Carmel Partners; Distributed Energy Partners; and Think Tech Hawaii provided comments.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting restrictive language allowing provision of electricity service only where the owner or lessor and tenant or lessee are served by the same meter and service connection and broadening the scope of the exemption to address concerns regarding energy wheeling;

     (2)  Deleting language that defined "property" as contiguous property notwithstanding certain interruptions in contiguity; and

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 19, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 19, S.D. 1, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,

____________________________

ANGUS L.K. McKELVEY, Chair